


The Ferret's Frolic

by Aurone



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Elements, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2019-10-12 02:18:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17458724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurone/pseuds/Aurone
Summary: No good deed goes unpunished.  Emil, a page, gets cursed and turned into a ferret for helping the crown prince escape an evil witch.  Now, years later, he might have the chance to become human again.





	1. A Frog and A Ferret

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dedica](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dedica/gifts).



Emil stood still and at attention in the hallway near his prince’s door, ready to fetch anything that his majesty might require.  Emil was a good page and had never failed to carry out an order for his prince. Prince Victor had been good to the boy. Victor treated all his page boys with respect, learning their names and families.  He even knew that Emil was the third son of the noble house of Nekola. 

_ I want to be a knight and serve my prince.  In a year, I can start being a squire. I talked to Sir Mila already and she said she would mentor me. The other pages think I am crazy for choosing her, but I think she is really cool and she is really good with a sword and a bow.  They say I am crazy for wanting to mentor with the first female knight, but she is the best there is and she is friends with the prince.  _

Emil noticed the queen walking quickly down the hallway towards his prince’s bedroom.  But like many nobility, she failed to notice the page standing in the hallway. 

_ She probably wants to give him some words of advice or something since he is getting crowned tomorrow.  He is still so young but I think he will make a good king.  _

Suddenly, Emil heard the prince call out in pain.  He ran to the door and watched, with his blue eyes wide in horror, as the queen transformed his prince into a frog.  Once the transformation was complete, Emil rushed quickly into the room. He scooped up the frog that was once his prince and fled from the queen.  He ran through the corridors of the castle with the queen on his heels. Emil had the advantage. Being a page, he knew the quickest route to anywhere and he didn’t have a massive dress holding him down either.  He headed straight for the exterior of the castle.

_ I can’t let her catch us.  She’ll kill him! _

Emil sighed in relief when he felt the cool night air on his skin. He ran quickly to a nearby patch of grass and released Victor into it. 

Emil said, “Run, my prince.”

Victor managed to croak back, “But what about you?”

Emil said, “Don’t worry about me, my prince.  Please escape and find a way to break the spell.”

Victor said, “Thank you.”

He hopped hurriedly away to find some shelter before the queen could finish her mission. 

When the queen caught up to the blonde boy he was standing in a grassy field. 

She asked, “Where is the frog?”

Emil stammered, “I. . .I let him go.  He’s gone.”

“What?!” She screeched. 

She slapped the young boy and he fell to the ground.  

Looking down at the boy, she took a deep breath and said, “Tis no matter.  Nature will soon take care of him for me. And as for you, well, I think you should share your prince’s fate.”

The words “No, please.” turned into a scream as Emil suddenly felt a blinding pain lance through his body.  He felt his body shrink, and saw his perception of the world change. When the transformation was done, he looked up at the queen. 

She said, “I should kill you, but again I think nature will take care of it for me, and I like the idea of you suffering as a ferret for awhile as well.”

She turned and walked back into the castle, leaving the poor scared boy alone in the darkness.  He tried to run away into the night but he couldn’t get his body to work properly. He had muscles in all the wrong places.  He walked as far as his new body would take him before finally curling up in some tall grass. 

_ What if I never become human again?  It was worth it to give the prince a chance to escape.  _

That night Emil cried himself to sleep. 

******

Eight years later. . .

 

Emil had been steadily moving through the kingdoms looking for the frog that was not a frog.

_ Neither one of us has much time left, I think.  The natural lifespan of ferret and frog are not that long. If the spell is not broken soon. . . It’s not likely that I will find him.  He might have gone a totally different direction than me, but I have to keep looking. We have to break the spells. I crossed a border wall a few days ago.  I wonder which kingdom I am in now?  _

Emil had found a nice site to nest within a tree the night before.  He awoke when he heard commotion outside his tree. He peaked his nose outside and saw that it was two humans who had entered the clearing.  The girl sat down under a tree and began to work on some needlepoint and the boy sat near her and began to read. He watched as the humans spent the morning quietly in the clearing. 

Emil thought  _ They must be nobility of some sort, judging by the clothing and the fact that they can hang out all day like this.  _

The girl laid out lunch from a picnic basket she brought.  

She said, “Oh look, Mickey.  The cook sent your favorite.”

She handed the boy a sandwich.  His eyes lit up in pleasure. They ate quietly, just enjoying each other’s company and the beautiful fall day.

The boy thought  _ soon it will be too cold to go outside and we’ll be stuck inside with the court. Not fun.  _

After they finished, the boy said, “Time to go back, Sara.”

She nodded and said, “Yes, Mickey.”

Emil watched as they got ready to leave, hoping they might toss a few crumbs of their meal out and giving him something to eat. Suddenly the girl gasped.

Mickey asked, “What is it?”

Sara, panicked, said, “The chain to my necklace broke and the locket fell.  We have to find it, Mickey. We have to. It’s the one with the picture of mother in it.”

The pair hunted for the locket all afternoon with no luck. The boy finally made the girl leave with a promise to come back tomorrow to look again.  When the pair left, Emil ventured out of his nest. He first nosed around their picnic area and found a few crumbs he could snack on, and then he began to look around for the lost locket.

_ She just sounded so sad.  Maybe I can find it for her.  _

Emil looked around the clearing a couple of hours before finding the locket where it had bounced into a small hole in a tree.  He wiggled in and retrieved the piece of jewelry. Night had fallen while he searched for the locket. He had begun to take the locket to his nest from the night before, to await the boy and girl’s return the next day, when he spotted a light in the distance.  

_ Is that a lantern?  Who would be coming out here this time of night? _

The light came closer and closer and finally Emil could see that it was the boy.  

_ Did he come back to look for the locket in the dark?  He must love her a lot to do something like that. The woods can be dangerous at night.  He shouldn’t be out here alone.  _

Emil waited in the clearing with the locket in his mouth. 

_ I’ll just give it to him when he gets here.  _

***

Michele thought  _ I’ve got to find that necklace.  Sara is devastated that she lost it.  I barely got her to go back to the palace tonight.  _

Michele trudged through the darkness, hell bent on finding the necklace for Sara.  He finally made it back to the clearing that they had been at that afternoon. He shined the light of his lantern around, unsure of where to start.  

_ We looked everywhere this afternoon.  Where can it be?  _

Michele suddenly noticed something sitting in the clearing.

_ What is that? _

Michele slowly crept closer.  

_ Is that a ferret?  What’s it doing here?  Do we even have ferrets here? _

Michele lifted the lantern a little higher to get a better look at the creature. The light glinted off of something in the ferret’s mouth.

_ It can’t be, can it? There is no way that ferret found the locket.  _

Michele slowly approached the ferret. 

_ If I scare him and he takes off with the locket we may never see it again.  _

Emil watched as the boy crept closer.  

Emil sighed.   _ Just get over here already.  I want to go find a place to sleep for the night.  I’m cold.  _

Tired of waiting for the boy, Emil ambled closer.  Michele stopped moving and let the ferret approach him. He was so still it looked like he might not even be breathing. 

Emil thought  _ For crying out loud.   _

Emil stopped directly in front of Michele and dropped the locket at his feet. Michele just stood there with wide eyes.    
Emil, looking at the boy, said, “Aren’t you going to pick it up?”

Michele started and said, “You can talk?”

Emil sighed and replied, “Yes, I can talk.  Now are you going to take the locket or not?”

Michele bent down and picked up the locket. 

Michele asked, “Did you find this for us?”

Emil replied. “I did.  It had fallen into a small hole in a tree.  You would have never found it.”

Michele said, “Thank you.  This locket means a lot to my sister.  It has a picture of our mother in it. She passed away several years ago.”

Emil said, “Glad I could help.” 

Emil shook himself and got ready to leave to find a place to sleep.  

_ Actually the place where I found the locket wouldn’t be a bad nest for the night.  Little cramped but it would be safe. Or I could spend another night in the nest I made last night.  _

As he began to move away towards the tree, he heard, “Stop, please.”

Emil turned to look at the boy.

Michele asked, “Isn’t there anything we. . . I can do for you.  To thank you?”

Emil thought for a moment and said, “A warm safe place to sleep for the night would be nice and maybe something to eat?”

Michele replied, “That I can do.  Will you come back to the palace with me?”

Emil nodded. He scrambled over to Michele who picked him up.  Emil ran up his arm and settled on his shoulders. 

_ At least he is warm.  _

Michele asked wryly, “Are you comfortable?”

Emil said sleepily, “Hmm.”

Michele picked up the lantern and began walking towards the palace. 

Michele chuckled and then asked, “Do you have a name?”

Emil replied, “My name is Emil.  What’s yours?”

Michele said, “My name is Michele.”

Emil said, “Michele.  That’s a nice name. You mentioned the palace.  Do your parents work there?”

Michele laughed and replied. “You could say that.  I am the crown prince.”

Emil squeaked, “The crown prince!  Why were you out here alone at night?! It’s dangerous out here!”

Emil stood up and began to move agitatedly on Michele’s shoulders and continued, “And put me down.  I am not worthy of the attentions of a prince.”

Michele said, “Wait.  Settle down. I figure I get a say on what is worthy of my attention or not.”

He petted the agitated ferret hoping to calm him down.

Michele thought  _ He’s so soft.  _

Emil thought  _ ohh, that feels nice.  No one has ever petted me before.  _

Emil calmed down.  As Michele continued to pet him, he made an interesting, almost purring noise and closed his eyes in pleasure. He settled back down around Michele’s neck.

Michele said, “That’s better.” 

He continued to walk towards the palace as he softly petted his new friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and see me on tumblr or pillowfort. 
> 
> https://www.pillowfort.io/Aurone
> 
> https://auronevardell.tumblr.com/


	2. Crazy Prince

Michele went straight to his sister’s quarters upon entering the palace.  He knocked on her door.

She said, “Yes?”

Michele said, “It’s me.  I found your locket, with a little help.”

Michele heard running towards the door and suddenly it swung open. 

Sara cried, “You found it?!”

All the noise and movement startled Emil.  He scrambled around Michele’s shoulders until he was nearly hiding behind the prince. 

Michele said, “Calm down, Sara.  You are scaring him.”

Sara said, “Who?”

She looked up and down the hallway, and seeing no one said, “There is no one there, Mickey.”

Michele asked, “Can I come in?”

Sara, confused, said, “Sure.”

She stepped back from the door and let her brother enter her room.  When he stepped close to the table in the sitting room, his new friend hopped down and inspected some fruit there.  

Emil asked, “May I?”

Michele said, “Certainly, help yourself.”

Emil picked up a strawberry in his little paws and began taking small delicate bites of the red fruit. 

Sara sat down in a chair and said, “A talking ferret? Brother, where?”

Michele said, “He was waiting for me when I went back to the clearing after dinner.  He found the locket and gave it back to me. I promised him food and a place to sleep as a reward.”

Michele handed his sister the locket.  She put it back around her neck.

She said, “Mr. Ferret. . .”

Michele said, “His name is Emil.”

She continued, “Emil, then, thank you for finding my locket.  It means a lot to me.”

Emil replied, “You are welcome, miss.  I am just glad I could help.”

When he finished his strawberry, he groomed his paws and the fur around his mouth. 

Sara said, “He is so cute.  Can we keep him?”

Michele said, “Well, first we might want to ask if he wants to be kept. He might have a family or something.”

They both looked at Emil.

Emil said, “Nope. I am by myself.  I wouldn’t mind sticking around awhile if Michele will take care of me.”

Michele, surprised, asked, “You don’t want to stay with Sara?”

Emil said, “No, I rather like your company and you did promise me a warm place to sleep.”

Michele shrugged and said, “Okay.”

Sara pouted a little and said, “If you change your mind, Emil, feel free to have Michele bring you back.”

Emil nodded and then clambered up Michele’s offered arm. 

Michele said, “I am going to bed.  It’s been kind of a long day.”

Sara nodded and said, “Goodnight Michele. Goodnight Emil.”

Both boys wished her a good eve and then Emil rode on Michele’s shoulder to his quarters. Michele entered his rooms and let Emil down on the table in his sitting room much as he had in Sara’s. 

Michele said, “I am going to have someone fetch me a pillow for you to sleep on.  Stay here a moment.”  

He summoned a servant.  A few minutes later a young maid came to his summons. 

She asked, “What is it you need, my prince?”

He said, “I require a pillow for my little friend to sleep on and some fruit for him to eat.”

He pointed at the ferret. She looked at the ferret and then nodded.  

She said, “I will return shortly, my prince.” 

Then she scurried off to do the bidding of the prince. She returned shortly with a pillow for the ferret and some fruit for him to eat.

Michele said, “Thank you.” to the maid who had brought him the items.

He placed the fruit on the table where the ferret could have his pick.  He picked out another strawberry to dine on. He watched while the prince put his pillow on the prince’s bed.

_ Whoa, wait a minute. I can’t sleep in the bed with a prince.  I am nowhere near noble enough for that. _

He said, “I can’t possibly sleep in the bed with you, prince.”

Michele said, “Call me Michele.  And why not?”

Emil said, “Because you are a prince and I am a ferret.”

Michele, raising an eyebrow, said, “So?”

Emil said, “I am not worthy of such an honor.”

Michele asked, “Do I not have a say in who shares my bed?”

Michele blushed, catching the connotation of his own words, as the ferret chittered presumably because he was embarrassed.

Michele said, “You will sleep on the bed with me and that is final.  No more discussion about this.”

Emil said, “Okay.” 

After Emil finished eating, Michele took the ferret over to the bed and placed him on the pillow.

_ It’s nice to be somewhere where I can sleep without fearing that something will happen to me. Maybe I’ll stick around a while if Michele will let me. _

***

Soon those in the castle got used to seeing Michele carrying around and talking to the ferret. He even took him to state events like the ball he was currently at.  

Michele said, “I hate these things.”

Emil asked, “Why?”

Michele said, “For one, we have to greet and ass-kiss all of our allies. Renewing connections my father calls it. Secondly, they always use it as an excuse to try and find Sara and I spouses.  I don’t know about Sara, but I am definitely not ready to settle down with someone yet.” 

Emil said, “I can see why this party would be tedious then.”

Right then Michele’s father approached with a young blonde-haired boy in tow. 

He said, “Michele, you remember Prince Yuri?” 

_ He’s the son of one of our allies.  He looks as miserable as I feel. _

Michele said, “Yes, it is a pleasure to see you again.”

Michele held out a hand to shake Yuri’s.  After they shook hands, Emil moved, drawing Yuri’s attention to him.

Yuri asked, “What is that?”

Emil replied, “I am a ferret, and my name is Emil.”

Yuri said, “Does every damn Prince around here have a talking pet?”

Michele, confused, said, “What?”

Yuri said, “Prince Yuuri had a pet frog that talked too.  And in my Dad’s last letter he told me that Prince Yuuri kissed the frog and it turned into a Prince.”

Michele said, “Really?”

Yuri asked, “You going to kiss your ferret there and see if it turns into a prince, too?”

Michele blushed and said, “I. . . er. . .”

He looked down at the Ferret and said, “Maybe?”

Yuri said, “You are all crazy. I don’t know why my father made me come and visit all of you.  You’ve all lost your minds.”

Michele turned sharply and walked away from Yuri.

Michele thought  _ What an unpleasant. . . Why did he have to be. . . but what if a kiss would turn Emil into a human? That would be. . . more than I could hope for.  He’s become my best friend. _

Emil thought  _ A frog that turned into a prince.  That must be Prince Victor. I am so relieved.  And I don’t have to worry about finding him any longer. Maybe. . . maybe I can stay here. _

Michele said, “Did you want to try it?”

Emil, still reeling from the fact his prince was alive, said, “Try what?”

Michele replied, “Seeing if we can make you human again.”

Emil said, “Oh, yes, please. Didn’t he say something about a kiss?”

Michele said, “It probably has to be a special kiss.  Like they have to be in love with you or something.”

Emil replied, “Probably.”

Michele said, “Do you want Sara to try?”

Emil started, “Why would I. . .”

_ Oh, he doesn’t know that I like him and not his sister.  _

Emil said, “Would you try first? If it doesn’t work we can ask Sara tomorrow?”

Michele said, “Alright.”

_ Why would he want a kiss from me? _

Michele said, “We’ll try after the party, okay?  Can’t have you turning into a man in the middle of Dad’s party.  It just wouldn’t do.”

Emil snickered. 

They spent a couple of more hours meeting delegates from other countries, many of which had something to say about Michele’s pet. But finally his father dismissed him and Michele went back to his room.  

Michele asked, “Are you ready?”

Emil nodded.

Michele picked up the ferret and kissed him on the nose. Emil felt a slight tingle in his body, but nothing else happened.

Michele sighed. 

_ I really wanted it to be me.  _

He said, “We can ask Sara to try in the morning. It’s been a long day, we should probably go to bed now.” 

Emil sadly nodded.  He curled up on his pillow on his side of the bed like normal.  He stayed awake a long time listening to Michele breathe and watching him sleep.

_ I really wanted it to be him.  But I can’t be a consort to a prince.  I am just a third son of a minor noble.  _

Finally, Emil fell into a fitful sleep. 


	3. Curse's End

Emil woke the next morning to the sound of screaming.

Michele shouted, “Who are you, and why are you in my bed?” 

Emil asked, “What do you mean?  You put me here.”

Michele said, “I most assuredly did not put a man in my bed last night. I put my . . . Oh my God. . . it worked.  You’re Emil.”

Emil said, “Of course I’m Emil, who else would I be?”

It took a moment, but the rest of what Michele said filtered into Emil’s brain. He looked down at his paws that were now hands. 

Emil said softly, “It worked.  I am human again.”

Emil looked down his now human body and saw that the clothes he was wearing were ripping and tearing apart at the seams. Clothes that fit his younger self did not fit the man he had become. 

Emil said, “Looks like I am going to have to borrow some clothes.”

Michele said, “You are taller than me so I don’t think my clothes will fit you.  I will have some brought in and we are going to need to tell my parents what happened.”

Emil said, “We can go see them as soon as I am properly dressed?”

Michele nodded. 

Emil tried to stand but had to sit right back down.  Walking was vastly different than the scurrying he had been doing for years. With Michele’s help, he walked around the room, trying to re-find his center of balance.  Once he could stand fairly well, and after a few turns of walking around the room. Michele rang for a servant to help with the clothes situation.   

When the girl arrived, Michele said, “My friend here requires some clothes.  Can you have our clothier sent up here?”

She summoned the clothier and he came presently with a tailor.  

The clothier said, “You rang, my prince?”

Michele said, “Yes, my friend here is in need of some clothing. Do you have anything that might fit him?”

The clothier said, “The girl told me he was taller than you, my prince.  I brought along a few items that might do.”

With Michele’s help, Emil tried on the items that the clothier brought and, with the letting out of some pant seams and shirt sleeves, they had him looking presentable in no time.

Michele said, “Later, we’ll come down and you can get his measurements.  I want to have some clothes made for him.”

The clothier said as he and the tailor left, “Yes, my prince.  We would be happy to serve you.”

Emil said, “But I can’t afford clothes like these.”

Michele said, “I can, and I choose to give them to you.”

Emil said, “But. . .”

Michele said, “No buts.  We need to go and tell my parents what happened.  They should be in the throne room by now and I am sure they have heard some kind of rumor.”

Emil nodded and followed Michele to the throne room.

The King said, “Son, I was wondering when you and your friend would come to us.”

Michele said, “We would have come sooner, father, but we had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction we had to take care of first.”

The King said, “Ah.  So who is this? There are a bunch of wild rumors right now about him.”

Michele said, “Father, this is Emil, the ferret.  I broke his curse and he became human again.”

The King said, “You actually followed what Yuri said?”

Michele shrugged and said, “It was worth a shot, and it worked.”

The King said, “What to do with you now? Who were you before?”

Emil said, “I am the third son to the noble house of Nekola and I was the page of Prince Victor before he got turned into a frog.  His step-mother was actually a witch and cursed us both the same night.”

The King said, “Cursing Victor I understand, but why did she curse you?”

Emil said, “I helped the prince escape after he was turned.  She meant to kill him.”

The King said, “Hmm. I gather the spell only breaks with love’s first kiss.”

The Queen said, “That seems to be how those kinds of things work. Which means, son, are you in love with Emil?”

Michele blushed and said, “Yes, and I want to marry him.  I want him to be my consort.”

Emil said, “I can’t. . . I am not noble enough for that.”

The King said, “I think you are pretty noble enough.  You saved your prince and befriended our prince when he had no friends. I can give you the title and land you need to marry my son, but I can’t give you his heart.”

Michele said, “He already has it.”   

The Queen said, “You could give him Duke Russo’s holdings.  He passed a few weeks ago and had no heir. His extended family is fighting in an unseemly manner trying to obtain the title and property.  In fact, I think they are here for a hearing.”

The King said, “That’s a splendid idea, love.  It will give them a residence of their own, too.  Emil, I convey the property and title of Duke of Arno to you.”

Emil said, “Wait. . . I can’t.  This is too much, your majesty.”

The King asked, “Do you not want to marry our son?”

Emil said, “I do.  I do want to marry Michele it’s just. . .”

The Queen said, “A lot to take in.  Why don’t you and Michele go get reacquainted while we iron out the details of your new station.”

Emil nodded.  Michele and Emil left the throne room and went back to Michele’s sitting room. 

Emil asked, “Do you really want to marry me?”

Michele said, “Yes, yes I do.”

Emil asked, “Will you help me run the estate?  I know nothing about being a duke and I want to be a good one.”

Michele said, “Of course.”

Emil said, “Okay.”

Michele said, “Okay?” 

Emil said, “I’ll stay and be your duke and consort.”

Michele said, “Really?”

Emil nodded.  Michele stood up and walked over to Emil.  He bent down and kissed him. Emil returned the gentle kiss.

Michele whispered, “I love you.”

Emil whispered back, “I love you, too.”


End file.
